Saturday, March 01, 2014

Open thread: The Weeks in Review

The "Weeks in Review" feature is an open thread in which commenters can talk about any current events or cultural phenomena that have caught their attention, including but not limited to the topics brought up in our traditional roundup of state and local news-review and weekly political chat shows. Descriptions of the shows provided by the broadcast outlets in most cases:

Connected to Chicago (WLS radio):
This week, Bill Cameron sits down State Senator Jim Oberweis (R-Sugar Grove) to talk about his bid for US Senate. Bill gets the State Senator’s thoughts on speed limits in Illinois, the immigration and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL). Bill Cameron heads this week’s roundtable with Lynn Sweet of the Sun-Times and Ray Long of the Tribune: Did Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel let slip his true feelings? Will the planned digital hub on Goose Island live up to its hype? Is Gov. Quinn in danger of being taken to court? What really is the connection between billionaire candidate for governor Bruce Rauner & Rahm Emanuel? Will a minimum wage hike make it throught the ‘do nothing’ Congress?

CapitolView, WSEC-TV Springfield. Host Bernie Schoeburg (SJR) and guests Kent Redfield (UIS) and Brian Mackey(IL Public Radio/WUIS) discuss Rauner's infusion of money, Dillard getting endorsed by the Illinois Retired Teachers Association, new polling, the audit of the anti-violence plan that was very critical of Gov. Quinn, and the investigation into DCFS. Also a nice dedication to Bob Murray, former weather man and TV/radio personality, at the end.

Chicago Tonight: The Week in Review (WTTW-Ch. 11) Host Joel Weisman with Lin Brehmer, WXRT; Kristen McQueary, Chicago Tribune Editorial Board; Roger Crockett, Rocrockett.com; Mike Mulligan, 670 The Score and the Chicago Tribune. Bruce Rauner owns a commanding lead in the Republican race for governor. Chicago wins a major digital manufacturing lab. Sticker shock is coming over heating bills – they could jump as much as $50 next month due to the severely cold winter. Some Chicago Public Schools students are expected to boycott ISAT testing next week. Chicago comedy icon Harold Ramis dies. The NHL Stadium Series comes to Soldier Field.
Web Extra: The panel delves further into the Blackhawks/Penguins game at Soldier Field, the Chicagoland series debuting March 6 on CNN, and why late-night host Jimmy Fallon is taking a polar plunge in Lake Michigan.

Chicago Newsroom CAN TV: Host Ken Davis is joined by Melissa Harris, Chicago Tribune and Chip Mitchell, WBEZ. They discuss the new Goose Island advanced-manufacturing technology center fueled mainly by a Defense Department grant, and whether the recent arrest of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman will disrupt Chicago's illicit drug trade. You may subscribe to the audio version of the Chicago Newsroom podcast on iTunes

Comments

You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.

In the news today, a Pace bus in Orland Park was evacuated after someone urinated on the bus. Could it get an worse? You bet it can.

On Tuesday around 9 a.m., I boarded a southbound Chicago Transit Authority Red Line train at North and Clybourn. The cars seemed crowded, so I picked one less crowded.

As soon as I stepped on, something seemed wrong.

“Why does it smell so horrible in here?” I asked myself.

I looked around, and there were riders holding their noses or burying their faces in their clothing. But they were making no move to the door. I walked to the other end of the car, hoping perhaps to get away from it, and still trying to figure out what it could be.

At the other end of the car, it got worse.

And I saw a disheveled man sitting in one of the seats. One of his white athletic shoes seemed badly soiled, although it could have been mud, for all I knew. But the smell had become so much worse that as I neared him, I did know one thing.

He was the Defecator.

I held the lapel of my overcoat up to my mouth in the confined space of the train car, remembering sickeningly that all odors are particulate. I thought I was going to die. All I could think of getting off at the next stop, Clark and Division, and wondering what seemed to be taking the train so long to get there, though it was proceeding at normal speed.

At Clark and Division I jumped out, while a few other riders waiting to board sought out the less-crowded car. I tried to warn them, but they didn’t listen. Meanwhile, my fellow refugees and I made it to the next car. We crammed into the area near the doors.

We looked at each other and shook our heads.

“Can you believe that guy took a dump in the train?” one asked.

The train arrived at my stop, Grand Avenue. As I got off, more riders began boarding the stink car. Again I tried to warn them. Again they didn’t listen.

I noticed that the Defecator heard my warnings and was now looking directly at me, glowering as I held the cell phone in my hand. I wanted to sympathize with his situation, his poverty, his misery with the cold. But I couldn’t, because I couldn’t get that smell out of my head.

I motioned with my hand to indicate to him that I was calling this in. The riders who had just entered the car still looked oddly bewildered.

Looking at the new riders, I mimicked a squatting motion and pointed directly at the Defecator. Then I saw the look of realization cross their faces, but the doors now had closed. They would be prisoner to that smell at least until the next stop.

Immediately I came out from under ground and called 311. This wasn’t an emergency, was it? But no one answered at 311. So I went ahead and called 911.

I gave the dispatcher the particulars. She thanked me. I don’t know what happened next. I can only hope they got him out and got those people out. After reading later in the week that a Pace bus was evacuated in Orland Park over a puddle of piddle, I thought surely the Defecator would have warranted an evacuation.

I wonder if there isn’t some way to make it happen more quickly the next time. Perhaps each car ought to have an alarm for the motorman, triggered by the offensive odor. A poop alert.

“The train is now approaching Randolph Street. Passengers on this train should exit the train at Randolph because someone has pooped in Car Number 4. Please stand clear of the Defecator while exiting the train. Thank you for riding the CTA.”

Because according to the CTA, which has said these events are occurring with greater frequency in the colder weather, there probably will be a next time.

Oh GJO'L, that sounds absolutely horrendous! I recently had a similar, albeit much less vile smelling, experience riding the #47 bus on Western... I was returning from O'Hare and got on the bus at the Western blue line stop and within about a minute I was mildly overwhelmed by that smell emanating from the back of the bus and I noticed a disheveled man sitting in the back of the bus where the smell was coming from... It was cold out so I wrapped my scarf around my mouth and nose but still could only a take about two or three blocks worth. I really wanted to get home after a week on the road do I was reluctant to say anything to the driver, knowing it would delay my return home, but after a couple minutes I alerted him and e pulled over at North Avenue and politely ejected the man from the bus, thankfully without the guy putting up a fight or making too much of a stink (well, e had already stunk it up, but you know what I mean ;-)

I make a big bet on the bus every day as I take Pace out to my job in the suburbs. It's clean, comfortable, and conducive to getting work done. Overall, Chicago's public transportation options are outstanding despite some undesirables encountered every once in a while (but that's just part of the urban experience).

I was taken aback by the premise of the article MrJM linked to, especially the first sentence: "Just ten years ago, living in Chicago without an automobile was considered eccentric behavior."

Really? By whom? I lived in Lincoln Park in '02 and '03 and I never felt like I needed a car. Actually, I felt it would be a liability. I moved to Logan Square in '04 and did fine without a car. The only reason I ended up with one was because I bought a house with a garage and my brother was leaving his car behind as he was headed to Iraq. Aside from that, it probably would have been a few years until I bothered getting a car. In many Chicago neighborhoods ten years ago, it was far from eccentric to be living without a car.

Greg, that is right, I would say going back many more years. If you're single and living near public transportaion, you don't need a car and didn't then. For the most part. If you're a family and have active kids attending schools and engaged in activities in different places, you needed a car then and you need one now.

This is what the Active Transportation Alliance, the mayor, and the CTA don't understand. Those of us with families do depend on our cars a lot and won't be able to use the stupid Ashland bus as an alternative no matter how much faster it goes. We'll still need our cars and we'll be left to fend for ourselves when Ashland BST shuts this important thoroughfare down to one lane in each direction with no left turns. Driving during rush periods will be nearly impossible, but we will still have to do it, by leaving earlier and by being miserable, but that is OK with the CTA because it thinks a few more riders will use the No. 9 bus and it's oh so important to move them through the corrodor marginally faster.

Ashland BST is a horrible idea that will wreck the corridor and push out more young families, the folks the city claims it wants to stick around.

Agreed! The Ashland BST plan is one of the worst transportation proposals ever presented!

Ashland is the primary North-South corridor for anyone living in the lake side community areas on the North Side and the only real alternatives are Western Avenue to the west and LSD to the east... What's going to end up happening is people trying to use other secondary and tertiary north-south streets instead of the primary arterial and we will see all of these neighborhoods experiencing the worst traffic they have ever seen... Not to mention the safety hazards on the side streets due to the higher traffic from the effective closure (well, diminished capacity) of the primary north-south arterial.

I agree with you about families having more of a need for cars. A lot of people with jobs that require going to clients need them too.

I'm also with you that the Ashland BST is a terrible idea. The only other street in the immediate area that moves relatively quickly is Racine. Damen and Southport and Halsted are not good alternatives. What a mess.

Greg and Bruce, you couldn't be more right, and the shocking thing is if you listen to the CTA and its paid consultants, they will tell you the whole thing will work fine BECAUSE commuters and commercial traffic will be diverted to those side streets. It's kind of unbelievable.

I'll tell you this: If they put that Ashland BST through, I will take a crap myself on that bus.

The Democrats continue their war on free speech with the help of their henchmen at the IRS. The WSJ has a nice article on that (WSJ online articles don't always link well here so you can Google "Strassel" "All the President's IRS Agents").

Here is the money quote:

"At a Senate Judiciary Committee markup Thursday morning, Texas's Ted Cruz offered an amendment to prohibit IRS employees from deliberately targeting individuals or groups based on political views. It was unanimously rejected by every member of the Democratic majority."

Sorry guys for your misfortune to be on the bus with some nasty nose-assaulting smells. Bleck!

This winter has been not so conducive to my typical mode of transportation of walking to most places. Too cold and too much snow. It's hard to be seen when the piles of snow are my height and way taller than my two shortees.

@GregJ... can't the Dems even see that the tables could be turned on them? Some Republican President in the future (or members of Congress or the Senate) can pressure the IRS to target left wing groups or just plain old democrats!

Then there's Harry Reid calling people "liars" who have had less than stellar experiences with ACA. That follows other "news stories," and yes I'm being very sarcastic, including from Mother Jones and Paul Krugman that essentially says, ObamaCare is wonderful and there are no negative stories that stand up to scrutiny."

I have a link on someone trying to get OUT of OCare insurance, and another one on Harry Reid calling people liars. They're both from Hotair, but I assure you that the "liar" story is available at many places. :

You guys do understand that they are targeting non-profits that have gotten into the business of campaigning and electioneering, right? They're not restricting their free speech, they're simply restricting their tax exempt status, as they rightly should! They can go on saying whatever they want; they just can't do it tax free anymore!

No group, whether Left, Right or center, should receive tax breaks for advocacy and electioneering!

I say let the IRS go after each and every one of them and revoke their non-profit status immediately if they're engaged in such activities... It'll save all of us a little in taxes if they are forced to pay their fair share...

Speaking of OCare, my husband and I spent some time last Sunday trying to help our oldest, who turns 26 in less than two weeks, get signed up. Website froze multiple times. It booted her out several times. It refused to loan several times. She didn't know how to answer the question of "are you currently covered," because currently she IS, but she won't be. She called navigators twice and my husband called once. Three different answers. THREE! And this is a critical question! One told her that she couldn't apply until after she turned 26. She politely told him she'd be without coverage until the end of the month, in that case. He said yes, that was correct. She politely told him that she knew it wasn't his fault, but that made no sense, and hung up.

We now are navigating plans to see what would be best. I'm also going to look at private plans -- though at this point her personal info is on the site so she could well get hacked even if she goes private. And she'd lose the subsidy, which she's sure to get, that way.

I know everyone thinks I'm against changes in health care insurance. I'm not. I simply think there were a lot better ways to accomplish change that the utter monstrosity that OCare is. Incompetent monstosity, I might add.

@ Beth
I watched the Fox News video you linked to, but I don't see why this a rail against ACA... Ok, her daughter had 89 surgeries, but what does that have to do with it? She said she lost her previous coverage, but why hasn't she signed up for new coverage? Insurance companies change policies all the time and have for years... Ok, so get a new one! Her pre-existing condition would no longer preclude her, right? Seems pretty simple to me...

In order to argue this, you need to understand what IRC Sec. 501(c)(4) actually says. Under that section, a group can spend up to, but not including, fifty percent of its funds on political ads, etc. without losing tax-exempt status.

I'm not telling you how I think things should be; I'm telling you what the law says. You can look it up yourself.

If the IRS targets right-wing groups who are operating according to the law, we should be making political hay about it no matter what we think of the law itself. If you want to repeal the law to revoke the non-profit status of any advocacy group, that might be a good cause.

In the meantime, groups who are operating according to the law should not be singled out for punishment because of their ideology. That's what we're complaining about.

Oh I know the law Greg J., and no, I don't really agree with it, but I know it all to well... and actually the law is not 50% of funds on "political ads", it is 50% of funds in " political campaign and lobbying activities", which includes a lot more than just ads. Now I agree the definition is not well-defined (which is how most groups skirt the 50% threshold, a loophole that needs to be changed), but it is not limited to just political advertising...

But how do we know if they are following the law and keeping it under 50% if it's not investigated? I suppose the IRS is simply supposed to take their word that they're keeping spending on advocacy under 50%? Somehow the IRS is allowed to audit individuals to see if the reported filings are accurate but they can't do the same for non-profit groups?

And these groups that are being singled out... I'm curious, what other functions do they serve that are worthy of non-profit status? For instance, what does the group "Tea Party Patriots" do to deserve tax exempt status?

Bruce L (and then it's back to work!) -- don't you find it a little strange that ONLY so-called "conservative" groups are targeted? Not just a little? Read some other websites and you'll find a wealth of information of havey-scavey behavior on the part of the IRS.

Re: the candidates questionnaire, I saw his on Twitter this AM and was completely gobsmacked, I was going to share it on the Candidate "favorite music" thread but didn't want to share something quite this off-topic, so I am posting it here on the Open Topics thread.

This candidate argues that we need to get rid of "Indixes" (evidently unaware of the proper plural way to express indices) so "the 1 % stops getting richer" and that banning, apparently, the Dow Jones, S&P Index and NASDAQ will "reduce hunger, poverty, violence, and killing." How eliminating the Dow Jones and S&P Index will stop killing is unclear from her candidate profile.

She has an MBA from Devry. which says plenty about Devry, but nothing any good.

She lives in Niles, and is a GOP candidate for the United States House of Representatives.

That's fine if they do audits but they should do audits on a representative sample. It appears that conservative groups were targeted for more audits than liberal groups. I could pick on liberal organizations and ask what they do to deserve tax-exempt status. It's an easy game to play for either side.

No wonder we don't ever get new blood in Congress when we have whackadoodles like that running as challengers... Her idea of "positive daily returns" to generate revenue is a pipe dream... and she actually believes the severe weather that has hit Illinois is G-d's will... But she also wants to cut defense by 33.3%!?! And allow immigrants a path to citizenship... I'm guess the RNCC isn't going to be throwing any support her way...

And her challenger isn't any better... He actually lists "video game music" as one of his interests...

@ Greg J.
I have no problem going after all of them... it's not an us vs. them issue for me... I don't believe any group should receive a tax break for any sort of advocacy at all!

And why were Right-leaning groups targeted? Well, first of all we saw tons of political ads from these groups during recent election cycles, whereas I don't recall seeing any from Left-leaning non-profits such as The Advocacy Group, Wikimedia (Soros' group), MoveOn.org or the likes (though I'm sure there were some); the amount of ads done alone raised the specter of overstepping their 50% threshold. Second, these groups were all dumb enough to put terms like "tea-party" and "conservative" in their names, directly alluding to their political motivations...

But yes, there were a few actors that targeted the easily targetable, but it's now somehow characterized as the entire organization doing it... though I wish they would and target any group participating in elections and campaigns... They deserve to be audited!

But yes, I want them all targeted and I want all their tax exempt statuses stripped... If I could change the law myself I'd say that if you air even one ad in relation to a campaign or election then that group should not receive any tax exemptions... simple as that!

And before you say it, no, that is in no way restricting free speech! Those groups would still be allowed to say whatever they want or air as many commercials as they want, but not at the taxpayers expense!

jpn and Bruce, I think what happened in that 9th District race is the GOP decided the seat is a safe Dem seat and so the GOP didn't put up anyone serious or commit resources, so as a result there are two fringe candidates and Jan will cruise to re-election.

Atanus is pretty interesting, huh? A living example of why you shouldn't sign a nominating petition somebody hands you at a mall without knowing that the person doesn't wear a foil hat. Remember the LaRouchies?

Does it really matter what the name of the organization is? I don't think anyone is fooled by what a group funded by Soros or what the League of Conservation Voters really are.

Your proposed reforms aren't much different from what I would propose and you can relax about any concerns you suppose I might have about free speech; I agree with you there as well. The only free speech concern I have is that groups were targeted based on the content of their message.

My point is that there is a strong case that the IRS targeted conservative groups and didn't challenge liberal groups, at least in the same manner. That is a scandal that we should talk about this fall until we're blue in the face because it's resonating even among those on the left. If we can use it against the IRS, against the Obama administration, and against the Democrats in general then by all means we ought to do it. Let's hammer them on this issue and make them try to defend this and ObamaCare at the same time.

As I said, I'm sure there was advertising by the Leftie groups too, I just didn't see or don't remember, likely because we were in an uncontested state as far as the Presidential election was concerned and there wasn't much reason to run them here...

And sure, some agents in the IRS had an agenda, but I'm not so sure that plays out in the battle between Rs and Ds this fall, as it clearly doesn't have anything to do with anyone who's running in any race... but I suppose the agitprop is working because, judging from some of the comments we see on these boards, there are some who think this is some sort of DNCC manipulated conspiracy to attack groups on the Right, when it was really more like three guys in Ohio that decided to target them... I mean, you don't truly believe that this was some sort of directive handed down by the Administration or the Party itself, do you?

I do believe there was a directed effort at least at the IRS level that amounted to more than, say, 3 rogue agents in Ohio. I don't know how far up the chain it went. Did it go all the way up to Obama? I highly doubt it. Did it go up to the agents' supervisors? It looks like it did. How much further up the chain? We should continue pressing for more investigations to find out. I bet there is a connection to the administration at some level but perhaps not high enough to make it a huge problem for Obama. Until we have the answers, it's best to assume that Democratic evasiveness means it goes very high up the chain. Let's go with that and make them prove us wrong.

"I bet there is a connection...perhaps not high enough to make it a huge problem for Obama...."

Well, that settles it, I'll never vote for President Obama in his next re-election campaign. No. Matter. What. I admire "conservatives" for continuing to fight battles they've already lost. LOL

GJO'L: "Remember the LaRouchies?"

All to well. Mark Fairchild. Janice Hart. Names I'll never forget. Those were my first-ever, and last-ever, "protest votes." I helped defeat Adlai Stevenson and re-elect the do-nothing failure that was Jim Edgar. (Hangs my head in shame...)

If you don't think that the IRS 501c scandal and proposed rule changes are an assault on the first amendment then you don't understand the nature of what the government has done and what it is proposing.

From comments on the Internal Revenue Service's proposed regulations regarding tax-exempt nonprofit organizations, submitted to the IRS by seven signatories including Floyd Abrams, Harvey Silverglate and Nadine Strossen, Feb. 24: If you don't recognize the names I suggest you Google them:

We are a group of First Amendment advocates who have championed free speech in judicial proceedings, legislative chambers and in the court of public opinion. In our view the proposed IRS regulations providing guidance for tax-exempt non-profits with respect to "candidate-related political activity" ("CRPA") will impose serious burdens on free speech and hinder the democratic processes it serves.Our basic concern is that the new concept of "candidate-related political activity," which sweeps within its ambit some of the most important public information and social advocacy work of so many Section 501[c][4] organizations, will have a chilling effect on such organizations by either causing them to self-restrain from engaging in the most important work of informing the public on the critical public policy issues ..
\
They also comment on the complaint raised the the rules regulating these 501c's are vague with loopholes
.
. . . Of course, that is a valid concern in an area of regulation which touches so directly on rights guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Vague rules are particularly suspicious in the First Amendment area, because uncertainty about the meaning of the law is a handmaiden of a chilling effect and deterrence on political speech and association. . . . But just as dangerous as vague laws in the First Amendment area are, seriously overbroad ones, i.e. laws which reach well beyond the valid area of government proscription and regulation. It is our submission that particularly in this regard the key elements of the proposed new regulation are deeply deficient and will cast a pall over the vital exercise of First Amendment rights by non-profit organizations, the key constituents of "civil society" which make our democracy so vibrant.

Like the proposed FCC regulations putting Federal monitors in media newsrooms this administration continually works to find different ways circumvent the first amendment.

About "Change of Subject."

"Change of Subject" by Chicago Tribune op-ed columnist Eric Zorn contains observations, reports, tips, referrals and tirades, though not necessarily in that order. Links will tend to expire, so seize the day. For an archive of Zorn's latest Tribune columns click here. An explanation of the title of this blog is here. If you have other questions, suggestions or comments, send e-mail to ericzorn at gmail.com.
More about Eric Zorn

Contributing editor Jessica Reynolds is a 2012 graduate of Loyola University Chicago and is the coordinator of the Tribune's editorial board. She can be reached at jreynolds at tribune.com.